Climate Control

With spring inthe in the air — finally! — it’s time to think about warmer temps. And that means transitioning from your furnace to your air conditioner and racking your brain for how long it’s been since you had those units checked out.

Think of your home heating and cooling system as you do your car. It requires regular maintenance, it can let you down unexpectedly if you don’t maintain it, and it will eventually need to be replaced.

“If you buy a brand-new car off the lot and just drive and drive and drive, it is not going to last very long,” says Mike Foraker, owner of Jennings Heating and Cooling in Akron. But if you take a few preventative steps, like changing the oil regularly, you can generally rely on your car —and your heating and cooling system — for the better part of 15 years.

There is some maintenance you can do yourself and some that is better left to a professional. “The filter changes the customer can do, but that’s not all inclusive of routine maintenance,” Foraker says. He recommends changing the filters four times a year or so for the sake of both the air conditioner and furnace. “If you don’t change the filter, you won’t get enough air through the air conditioning coil and you’ll have freeze-ups, condensation leaks.”

When Jennings technicians perform an annual furnace and air conditioner safety checkup, they use special equipment to check for carbon monoxide in the flue gas and to check the pressure of the natural gas coming into the home. They also verify all safety controls are functioning properly, the chimney is in good working order and the airflow through the system is ample. In addition, they check the thermostat and capacitor, as well as lubricate any accessible motors and blowers.

The repercussions for skipping regular maintenance are similar to foregoing upkeep on your car: Your system runs less efficiently and breaks down without warning. “Not running as efficiently means more money to operate,” Foraker says. If your furnace breaks down in the middle of a cold winter or your air conditioner on a hot day, he recommends calling a professional that offers 24/7 service, as Jennings does.

Programming your units properly can help make them more efficient. Foraker recommends that if temps are forecast in the low to mid-80s, you should use a daytime setting that is a few degrees warmer. When temps rise above 85 during the day, the evening recovery time would suck up a lot more energy, negating any potential savings, so keeping the temp constant is best. “The air conditioner does not have the capacity to catch up if the temperature outside is rising rapidly,” Foraker says. “A house has a flywheel effect: It absorbs all the heat throughout the day, and it’s most difficult at 6 p.m., 7 p.m. to remove that heat.”

Meanwhile, heating has a greater flexibility and capacity, so save by programming your thermostat temperature down a few degrees while everyone is at work or sleeping. “That can save typically about 7 percent on your annual bill,” Foraker says. “If you set back two [time] periods, you can save up to 11 percent.”

Foraker challenges you to consider both heating and cooling units as part of a larger operation because they work together. The air conditioner uses the blower in the furnace to operate, so furnace issues such as a dirty filter affect the air conditioner too. “People could replace just the furnace, wait a couple of years and replace the air conditioner, but when you do that, you’re unable to match the systems,” he says.

Newer air conditioner models allow control of humidity and coolness, are smarter and can work with the furnace for maximum efficiency and also make it beneficial to replace both simultaneously. “It all ties together and communicates — very intelligent, very economical to operate and very comfortable,” he says.

During a regular once-over, the technician can give you fair warning about parts or components that might be wearing out soon, which helps you make an informed decision about possible future repairs and when to replace the unit. Switching from an old unit to a newer, more efficient unit could save you as much as 20 to 30 percent on annual heating and cooling bills, he says, while also affording a more even temperature for a more comfortable home. And though a new furnace or air conditioner may not increase your home’s resale value, it can make the home more attractive to prospective buyers — old units will generally be noted during an inspection as something that should be replaced before a sale.

“We find typically after about 15 years, you’re going to start to have major parts wear out, and you might have anywhere from $600 and $1,200 repairs,” Foraker says. “That money toward a new unit would be money well spent because not only are you going to get one that’s got warranties and a full life ahead of it — you’re going to save on your monthly energy costs because the new units are quite a bit more efficient than the old units.”

Staying Power

Mike Foraker, owner of Jennings Heating and Cooling, suggests other ways to keep utility bills in check.

Heat Up

Seal it. Add weather stripping around your windows and doors. “You might be losing 10 percent of your heat out your windows,” Foraker says. But replacing the windows isn’t necessary unless your home is very old and still has the original single-pane windows. “If the house was built in the late ‘70s or newer, you would be better off doing these other things first.”

Fill it. Make sure there’s at least 10 inches of insulation in your attic. “Heat rises, so the biggest heat loss is at the ceiling, whether it’s one story or two,” he says. “If a home has 10 inches of insulation, you’re typically in pretty good shape.”

Cool Down

Clear the coils. As you do your spring yard cleanup, make sure shrubs, landscaping and mulch are moved away from the outdoor unit. “And watch out for cottonwood in the spring,” Foraker says. “It will get sucked into the unit and block the coils.” Because the air goes through the coils and the furnace, keeping them clear and regularly changing the furnace filter are keys to efficient cooling.

Clean the drain. A cup of bleach water poured through the condensation runoff that exits the unit into the floor drain of the basement makes for a good spring maintenance job. “It gets rid of any mold and algae that can grow in the drain over the winter,” he says.

Partially close some registers. “In a two-story house, partially closing some registers on the first floor will force the cooler air upstairs,” Foraker says. Physics tells us that the cool air will fall downstairs eventually, helping cool the entire house.